Welcome to the MAAV April Newsletter!

Another Full Month of More Mountain…Everything!

More Mountain Poses

With warm weather finally arriving herein Southwest Virginia, the MAAV team decided to hold its second “More Mountain Poses” yoga session with our very own Community Engagement Specialist Amber Wendler. The session was a gentle yoga class held on the lawn of Lane Hall on Friday April 26th 3:30 to 5 p.m. Everyone was invited to attend, no matter their experience level. We were honored to be joined by our friends from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (CLAHS) Communications/IT teams (pictured here). Judging from our great turn out and the many laughs shared, “More Mountain Poses” might become a staple semester event.

More Mountain Celebrations

On April 19th, the MAAV team had the honor of attending the Annual CLAHS Awards Ceremony, where MAAV co-directors Dr. Emily Satterwhite and Dr. Katrina Powell were awarded the very prestigious Jerry and Ruth Ann Niles Land Grant Scholar award, created by friends and colleagues of the College’s founding dean to recognize faculty whose scholarly activities fulfill the mission of the land grant university. MAAV is so honored to have such dedicated leaders within our team, and it was a wonderful evening filled with celebration and conversation with other scholars within the college. In attendance to cheer on Emily and Katy were Lauren Trice (MAAV Project Coordinator), Dr. Marti Wagnon (MAAV Communications Coordinator), and Macie Alford (MAAV Project Intern).

Project Spotlight: Traveler’s Inn Conference

Our project spotlight for April is Traveler’s Inn, a MAAV sponsored project currently located in Bluefield, Virginia. Project Leads Vonnia “Vonn” Davis, Dr. Greg Galford, and Project Coordinator Jariah Strozier have been busy this past month empowering present and future generations to preserve and tell local histories, particularly histories of the local African American neighborhood that have been largely overlooked in that area. On March 22-23rd, Traveler’s Inn held their first community engagement meeting in Bluefield. MAAV is so proud of the hard work and dedication Vonn, Greg, Jariah, and countless others have put in to making this project a success. Stay turned to hear more about Traveler’s Inn and their upcoming events and enjoy these pictures from the community engagement meeting.

Intern Insights

One of the things I enjoy most about MAAV is how they embrace diversity. The faculty, staff, student interns, Advisory Board members, and projects working with MAAV represent diverse interests, fields, locations, and organizations. I think there’s something to learn from everybody, and I’ve loved spending time with my fellow interns. I won’t forget making mountains out of chicken wire and papier mâché…

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